Holistic Hospitality

Sponsored Content

By Mira Brody

“I wanted to be the reason people came to the restaurant,” Montana Ale Works Executive Chef Jacob Huder said. He’s in the middle of recounting how he landed in this dining room when he pauses to look over the night’s specials, freshly printed and already marked up. Huder, Ale Works’ Executive Chef and the newest of five partners, is clearly not the only person double and triple-checking each detail.

It’s all in those details, Huder explains, picking up where he left off: the food, the work ethic, the community, management culture, and partnering with local producers to source ingredients. In the fast-growing city of Bozeman, Ale Works has built an ecosystem that keeps regulars returning while drawing in newcomers.

“What we do best here is supporting our community and doing it with consistency,” Huder said. “When you come in the door, I feel like we do a great job of making sure you feel welcomed and get the experience you want.”

The consistency Huder is talking about is built on a foundation that taps deep into Bozeman’s agricultural history from the 1880s. Set in a neighborhood that was once the hub for transporting goods produced in the fertile Gallatin Valley, the Ale Works building was originally a Northern Pacific freight house where those goods were stored before being shipped back East by rail. An active spur line still runs behind the restaurant, and part of the dining room is a refurbished railcar overlooking Main Street.

“The building struck me for sure the first time I walked in,” said Managing Partner Roth Jordan, describing the space known among many as Bozeman’s gathering place. “I mean, it’s hard not to walk in this building and not just kind of be in awe.”

Jordan came on as Executive Chef in 2005, building the foundation of from-scratch recipes Ale Works is known for. He handed the kitchen reins to Huder in 2021, who soon joined the ownership group, which currently consists of these two, plus Director of Operations Sean Faris and founding partners Mark Taché (CEO/CFO) and Christin Cooper-Taché (Concept, Culture and Messaging).

From the helm in his composed kitchen, Huder’s culinary stamp has only reinforced Ale Works’ reputation in the community.

“Being the calm in the storm I think is the important part, and keeping a level head and making sure the team is—even if they’re having a bad day or a rough night—still having fun doing it because cooking food is fun,” Huder said. Once you take care of the core team, he explained, that hospitality extends to the guests.

“You never know why someone might be going out to dinner that night,” Jordan added. “It could be for a celebration. It could be because they had a bad day and they needed beer, badly, but they’ll stay for the hospitality, a local craft bourbon and a steak.”

That philosophy shapes everything that takes place inside and outside the restaurant, especially in the team’s long-term relationships with local producers.

Twenty years ago, Ale Works partnered with Matt and Jacy Rothschiller, owners of Gallatin Valley Botanicals, a local organic farm. The couple were interested in increasing their production while Ale Works needed a dependable local producer to meet its volume. A symbiotic partnership was born: Ale Works purchased harvest equipment for GVB and was paid back in veggies.

To learn how food is grown and spirits are made, employees take mandatory farm, brewery and distillery tours, and Huder finds creativity in crafting a menu with local, seasonal offerings. Today, 27 percent of menu ingredients are sourced locally, against an industry standard of just 3 percent.

Better food. A smaller carbon footprint. Supporting local agriculture. “Everything about the relationship is holistic,” Jordan said. “And that goes for our management philosophy too. It’s about sustainability, in life and work.”

This summer, the Ale Works patio will hum with hungry patrons, its outdoor bar alive with easy conversation, the sun slipping through vines of hops that frame the edge of the terrace. That familiar energy—and the crew behind it—is more than a seasonal scene. It’s become an intrinsic part of Bozeman.

“A long time ago we realized that we didn’t want to just be a business in the city of Bozeman,” Faris said. “We wanted to be a part of the community.”

---

Pork Chop, Jalapeño Honey Butter and Cornbread Casserole

By Jacob Huder

This dish was inspired by a trip to Ranchland, Ale Works’ local processing plant. After seeing the quality of the Montana pork being butchered, Huder and Jordan knew they wanted to feature a local chop on the Ale Works menu. Drawing on their Southern roots, the two decided to pair the chop with cornbread and a jalapeño butter to complete the dish.

Pork Chop Sous Vide

• 4 pork bone-in chops, seasoned with salt and pepper
• ½ cup + 1 tbsp melted bacon fat
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp fresh thyme

Place 1 tablespoon of bacon fat and all the herbs in a vacuum-sealed bag with pork chops. Reserve remaining bacon fat for the cornbread. Sous vide (or immerse the bag in 150° F water) for 4 hours, then place the bag in an ice bath to cool.

Jalapeño Honey Butter

• ¼ lb (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tbsp minced shallots
• 2 tbsp minced jalapeños
• ½ tsp each minced fresh garlic and fresh ginger
• 1 ½ tsp neutral oil
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
• ½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 6 tbsp honey
• ½ tsp each salt and pepper
• ½ tsp Tabasco (green is best; red is fine)

1. Let butter fully soften in a big bowl at room temperature.
2. Cook shallots, jalapeños, garlic, and ginger in oil over low heat until slightly translucent. Let cool.
3. In a small pot, bring vinegar to a boil until reduced by half. Let cool.
4. Combine remaining ingredients with the cooled shallots and vinegar.
5. Whip softened butter using a hand or stand mixer on high speed to incorporate air, until volume increases by 25%.
6. With mixer still running, slowly add honey. Then add mustard, parsley and spices until well incorporated.
7. Roll the butter into a log and wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap. Store in refrigerator.

Cornbread Casserole

• 1 cup flour
• ¾ cup cornmeal
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 ½ tbsp baking powder
• ½ cup melted bacon fat (reserved from the sous vide prep)
• ½ can drained whole kernel corn
• ½ can creamed corn
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ cups sour cream

1. Preheat an oven to 350° F.
2. Place cast iron pan in oven with 1 tablespoon of bacon fat.
3. Melt remaining bacon fat in pan on stove.
4. Place dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
5. Blend corn, eggs, sour cream and bacon fat into dry ingredients.
6. Pour mixture into warm, greased pan.
7. Bake for 40 minutes.

Plating Instructions

When cornbread is nearly baked, use the final 10 minutes to sear your chops—about 5 minutes per side, or to preferred doneness—on a hot grill or in a very hot pan. Place one thick slice of jalapeño honey butter atop each chop. Serve with a blissful scoop (or two) of cornbread casserole. Enjoy!